It’s that crazy little voice in my head doing the dance around; in the guise of reminding me again. Like I have any chance of forgetting; it’s been reminding me everyday for the past 24 days! I had woken on March 1 to a whisper:

baby’s day in 23 days.

I had smiled at the thought, and that must have been my mistake. Because the voice was there the next day, and every day after. Each day the number was a day less, my own mental count down. How then does it -the voice- imagine I could have forgotten? But now it has me infected with what I’ve named Baby’s Day Fever; symptoms of which include warm temperature, loony grins, and hyperactivity.

Baby Baby Baby

The little voice is chanting incantation, command to which my fingers are flying across my phone, calling Baby. It’s over ten minutes of singing the old happy birthday song and lots of teases, but I eventually get off the phone. Sometime during the call I started dancing to music playing in the background, so now there’s excited endorphins in my system. Something’s singing rather loudly, and it’s not me because it isn’t singing off key. I shut my vibrating vocal chords to locate the ‘musician’, then gasp. Darn supposed “little” voice in my head is going all Beatles on me!

March 27, 2016

16:00hrs

*fuming in the rage born of dashed dreams*

What the… how the… but…

All the goodies in my provisions wardrobe are missing. They have erased, poofed, simply disappeared like they were never there. Not even crumbs,wraps, or disarrangement of my non-edibles to tell me I’m not insane. You know, to assure me that they were ever there in the first place. But, you see, it’s Baby’s doing. So I’m screaming his name, and chasing him round the house when I hear his footsteps thump fast somewhere outside my room. He must have been standing outside my room, waiting to see my reaction to my now-empty wardrobe. He’s so in for it! How can I come home after a hectic journey and -because he has gotten home before me- meet none of my goodies?

My goodies o! My personal goodies stored in the private wardrobe in my very own personal room!! What impudence!!!

Little voice is chanting as we chase Baby; enraged. The words fuel my legs to run faster, till the incredulity of it dawns on me when I notice he is laughing. We are two full grown siblings: he running from me, I chasing him, and our dog, tail wagging, woofing and weaving in and out beside us, and between our legs. One of us would soon fall. And we would become a ball of flying limbs, tussles, and rambunctious laughter; punctuated with whizzes and yelps. We always do.

P.S:

In case you were wondering how I know what happens 3 days away, well, I know because I know Baby. By the way, we both know you now have proof of what I always say. Baby drives me crazy. He always has. All indications suggest he always will.

P.S: Please forgive my recent irregular posts; power unavailability has taken a turn for the worse here. I’m finding ways around it, but till I get back to regular posting please bear with me. Thank you!

In the struggles of daily living we forget to mention it. And sometimes we meet people who slur the sacrifices you all make. But we remember today, the Nigerian Armed Forces Remembrance Day, and we mention it. Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much for giving your lives so that we, blissfully ignorant civilians, may fulfill our dreams sans fears.

Dear Member of the Nigerian Armed Forces, be you dead or alive, you are most honored and appreciated. #Salute.